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February 25. The stomachs of all gar collected on April 28

were empty, suggesting that gar consumed the bulk of their

food requirements in the middle part of the dry season and

lived on stored energy during the latter part of the dry

season.



Predation by Wood Storks

 Wood Storks were first seen feeding at Mud Lake Pond

on February 25 and are believed to have started feeding at

the pond at about the time the water line receded from the

vegetation line to leave a ring of bare mud around the pond

with no vegetation in which fish could hide. Approximately

75 Wood Storks were feeding at the pond when the study team

arrived on March 31, 1975. On April 28, the sampling team

again flushed a feeding aggregation of Wood Storks, this

time numbering about 100. Wood Storks probably fed in the

pond from late February through April and may have been

responsible for the disappearance of Redear from the pond,

which was noted on March 31. Gar appeared to be the only

fish species of significant biomass in the pond after March

31, suggesting'that Wood Storks at the pond in April may

have been harvesting gar. The increase in the average size

of gar in the pond from March to April may have been caused

by Wood Storks selecting for smaller individuals.